


Matthew's Absolution

by LadyKnowledge



Category: All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29781561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKnowledge/pseuds/LadyKnowledge
Summary: After being rescued from Benjamin, Yseabeau has more than just blood to help Matthew recover
Relationships: Matthew Clairmont & Ysabeau de Clermont
Kudos: 19





	Matthew's Absolution

Ysabeau stepped into Diana and Matthew’s bedroom at Les Revenants. Her son had been propped up slightly though it was clear that he was not yet able to move under his own power. He did not look at her, clearly frustrated with his current circumstances. To require continued feeding, unable yet to hunt for himself, like a newly reborn vampire, was no doubt galling. Ysabeau pretended not to notice. Today, she’d come to provide more than physical sustenance.

“Feed, my son.” She commanded, presenting her wrist to him. Vampire etiquette, and their bond, compelled him to obey. Opening his mouth, he bit down as gently as he could. Knowing the way her memories would unfurl for him, she chose carefully. There were things that needed to be said but could not be spoken.

 _I know what Benjamin did to Phillippe, Matthew._ She thought. _I know, too, how difficult it was for you to release Phillippe. I regret not having found the way to thank you for that. You are a vampire of honour._ Matthew’s eyes flared as he heard her thoughts. Ysabeau looked away for a moment before saying the rest of her piece out loud. She wanted to be sure he heard exactly what she needed to share.

“Matthew, I know that you have carried a burden of guilt these past years over the method of Phillippe’s death. I am sorry, my son. I should have eased it but your grief kept you sharing in mine. I needed someone else who understood that though the years have passed, I still feel the loss.” Matthew’s jaw opened as if he was trying to say something but Ysabeau pressed her wrist against his mouth insistently, using it as a makeshift gag. “You did what Phillippe wanted, what he needed, and that I could not have done. You drank his lifeblood and did not spill a drop of his fractured memories. You not only released him, my son. You gave me the gift of knowing, for all time, that some part of him lives on in you.” With her free hand, she reached up and stroked his cheek. “I remember you as a baby, Matthew.” She continued. “Years before I turned you. It was the custom then, for the lady of the domain to visit new mothers. Your mother was so proud of you. You looked up at me with such trust when you were born. In truth, I decided then that you would be a son of my heart. I would not have turned you into a vampire without your consent but your mother gave hers to me that day. Lisane was wise for her time, and age. She asked me to watch over you, come what may. I don’t know where you were when she died, it was no more than a year or two after you’d become a vampire and you were off somewhere, hunting. Your father was dead already by then and Lisane had what we now call cancer. I would call on her every day and we would speak of you. She wanted to know more about the life you might have as a vampire. I told her. Then, she asked me to…” Matthew’s eyes widened. “She asked me to drain her blood so that I might carry her mother’s love and all her memories of your early life forever. She had no wish to cheat death, Matthew. I would have turned her, if she asked. For you. But it brought her comfort in her last moments to know that her love for you would be carried, forever, in a heart that would go on beating.” Satisfied that Matthew had had enough sustenance for now, she pulled back slightly. When he released her arm, she licked at the wound, sealing it.

“What you did for Phillippe, and for me, in taking on the burden of his death. It is the same. It is an act of love, my son. And only the fiercest of hearts can carry such a burden without being crushed. So, I thank you. Knowing that you have received Phillippe’s absolution, I think it is time I give you mine. Thank you, Matthew.” Blood tears welled in his eyes.

“Thank you, _Maman_.” He said quietly. “Would you…” He hesitated, what he was about to offer was not in keeping with the code of secrets he usually lived by. “Would you like to hear about our wedding? I know that Diana promised Phillippe that she would tell you some day, and she will. But my memories are different and will recall to you some of the people from that time. I wish you could have been there.”

“Yes, tell me.”


End file.
